The five essential Lars Von Trier movies everyone must see

Posted On November 3, 2024November 3, 2024

Danish auteur Lars Von Trier famously described himself as “afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking”, which isn’t something you could assume by looking at his fiercely provocative body of work. A former child actor who quite literally made a name for himself at the Danish Film School, adopting the ‘von’ in his name during his time there, the director then made a splash with his first feature film, The Element of Crime, creating the gloomy melodrama and deeply cynical undercurrent that he became famous for in his later work. 

In the years since, Von Trier has made nearly 14 feature films and became one of the leading figures within the Dogme 95 movement, only growing in his examination of despair as a result of the political and social issues that plague him, unafraid of taboo and being misunderstood, almost gaining pleasure in creating controversy. His visual style is also fairly unforgiving, with dizzying handheld shots that quickly shift in perspective, extreme imagery of sex and violence and an inescapable feeling of hopelessness.

Focusing on subjects that we are generally uncomfortable with, he heightens our feelings of discomfort by not only showing it on screen but exaggerating it, teasing it out to its rawest and most confrontational form and holding a mirror up to our societal blind spots. 

Despite my love for the sheer force and magnitude of his work, in all that it forces us to see and devote our attention to, watching his films does require a lot of mental heavy lifting. Watching Melancholia feels about as comforting as the work of John Cassavetes, something that you see and six to eight working months to recover from before venturing back into the murky depths of his mind.

So, to save you from all the inner turmoil, here are the top five films by Lars Von Trier. 

The five best Lars Von Trier movies:

5. The Idiots (1998)

As one of the key directors within the infamous Dogme 95 movement, Von Trier’s first attempt at making a film within these restrictions is a great example of the director at his most creative, showing his early fascination with existentialist ideas and the limitations of our own socialisation but filmed in a more organic way.

The film follows a group of young people who essentially decide to embrace their ‘inner idiots’ and free themselves of the internalised rules that control us, trying to get in touch with their most authentic and uncensored selves. It’s shot in a documentary-esque way that merges different forms of media, reflecting the freedom that the film’s subjects are pursuing with its wild and untameable camera work. The characters are, in many ways, completely unlikeable, testing the audience as we watch a group of fairly insufferable people behave pretty badly. But his ability to challenge audiences and make us watch something that puts us at odds with ourselves sums up the indescribable madness that is Von Trier.  

4. Breaking the Waves (1996)

A bit of curveball for Von Trier, Breaking the Waves was released in 1996 and follows a woman living in a small Scottish village whose paralytic husband convinces her to have an affair, wanting to be told about it and given a reason to live. Starring the brilliant Emily Watson and frequent collaborator Stellan Skarsgård, the film won the Jury prize at Cannes for its (at the time) revolutionary portrayal and heartfelt portrait of female sexuality, something that few male directors had concerned themselves with at that point.  

The film is emotionally shattering, with a morbid thematic strand that explores the consequences of misogyny, leaving you as a bag of battered feelings by the end in its relentless anguish and pain. Each frame is suffocating, each landscape is isolating, each song choice is jarring, with no respite for the audience that again shows Von Trier to be a master of cruelty and evil. Truly horrible stuff.

3. Dancer in the Dark (2000)

With an unconventional cast that stars the singer-songwriter Björk and Catherine Deneuve, Dancer in the Dark is about a nearly blind Eastern European woman who discovers that her son may inherit the same problems with his sight, trying to find hope through music and dance.  

Von Trier draws us in through the devastating reality of this woman’s circumstances, making it nearly unbearable to watch as we see her trying to cling to any thread of happiness. The outward optimism is what makes it so uncomfortable because we know that this character doesn’t stand a chance. It’s a mixture of fading highs and plummeting lows that take you to new levels of sadness, so overcome by the tragedy of one life, a life that reflects the reality of many. It’s maybe Von Trier being most empathetic, but also at his most sick; a piece of work that is heartbreaking, grotesque and inhumane all at the same time. Within his work exists a multitude of contradictions, and when I think of this film, I don’t know whether I love him or hate him for what he made me watch.  

Dogville (2003)

Nicole Kidman had a difficult experience on the set of Dogville, with Von Trier being famous for his relentless work ethic and pushing actors to their limits. And when watching the film, you can understand why it was such a tumultuous experience.  

The film follows Grace, a woman on the run who finds respite in the town of Dogville, doing odd jobs for a group of people who help her hide in return. With his classic shaky cam style and an unsettling narration, the film is Von Trier’s take on the thriller, with too many twists and turns to keep track of that critique the issues that he concerns himself with the most – misanthropy. It’s a relentless recounting of hatred and the darkest parts of the human psyche, with a ferocious performance from Kidman that will leave you both in awe of her and concerned for her. You will never feel more depressed about the state of humankind than after watching Dogville. 

Melancholia (2011)

Lastly, our number one pick from Von Trier’s filmography is Melancholia. Starring the mesmerising Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the film follows two sisters with very different reactions to a planet that is slowly hurtling towards Earth.  

Melancholia stands out for many reasons. The visual style feels very grounded and meditative compared to his other work. The long and startling opening sequence is shot in slow motion, showing Dunst’s character as she attempts to run through a forest with this black sludge wrapped around her legs. While he adopts his signature handheld look, later on, the film is regularly interrupted by these hypnotic sequences where everything stands still.  

But ultimately, it feels the most personal and human from his filmography, loosely based on his own experiences with mental illness. Each sister in the film is the living embodiment of anxiety and depression, highlighted through their reactions to the presence of this planet highlights. As someone who is clinically depressed, Dunst’s character is indifferent to it. She embraces the relief of death. After a nightmarish wedding scene in which the most bizarre things go wrong and ruin the celebrations, we learn that every single day is a struggle for her, even a day that is supposed to be the happiest of your life. Gainsbourg’s character is extremely anxious, and her reaction to her sister’s wedding and the planet shows how much energy she uses on worrying and caring for other people, neglecting herself as she desperately tries to control what is happening. 

Given the nature of his other films, Melancholia feels almost hopeful and uplifting in comparison, mostly due to the dignity and empathy that he extends to these characters as the world itself comes to an end, being obliterated by the planet in the final scene.

So, if you’re in a terrible mood, then I suggest starting with Melancholia and then spacing out the remaining four films over the rest of your life. Trust me, you’ll be doing yourself a favour. 

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